Meet the South African who started a Silicon Valley AI firm at 22, made it on Forbes and won a Google award
South African Kiara Nirghin has been making headlines for years for her achievements in the tech world, with her latest accomplishment making it onto Forbes' 30 Under 30 North America list.
At 16 years old, she won the Google Science Fair worth R680 000 for her project 'Combatting drought with a Low-Cost, biodegradable Superabsorbent Polymer made out of orange peels'.
At the time, she was a student at St. Martin's in Johannesburg. Her project utilised waste materials such as orange peels and avocado skins, which are rich in polysaccharides and pectin.
This was to help retain moisture in dry soil, boosting crop growth in water-scarce regions.
Kiara on Forbes 30 under 30
Kiara and her sister, Nikhara Nirghin, made it on North America's 30 under 30 AI list. They are co-founders of Chima, a company building 'human reasoning' AI systems for enterprise functions.
Forbes 30 Under 30 is an annual list published by Forbes magazine, recognising 30 individuals under the age of 30 in various industries. The sisters were recognised in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) list.
Chima, based in Silicon Valley, Northern California, has systems designed to handle everyday business scenarios, such as automating repetitive tasks.
Kiara Nirghin at 16 after winning the Google Science Fair. Picture: Facebook/FACTS
Chima, led by two sisters
The two sisters launched Chima at a young age. It is understood that Kiara was 22 when the company was launched.
Kiara serves as the chief technology officer, while Nikhara is the chief executive officer.
Nikhara is a qualified actuary who has worked at Liberty, Deloitte, and Goldman Sachs.
According to Chima's website, the company is built on expertise in marketing, business, AI technology and data.
Kiara's experience
According to Mybroadband, Kiara has held several high positions in the tech world, all stemming from her Google award.
She used the money she won from the science fair to pursue a degree in Computer Science at Stanford University in the US in 2018.
In 2023, she obtained her Master's degree in Computer Science with a focus on AI and Human Computer Interaction.
Kiara was appointed to the Facebook Tech Sustainability Board and has served on the Google Impact Fund Board since 2019. She also became a Fellow of Thiel Capital, backed by Palantir co-founder and principal OpenAI investor Peter Thiel, as well as the 776 Foundation, backed by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
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